order online: bits of deadly virii

The Guardian reports they ordered a chunk of the smallpox virus DNA sequence online from a molecular biology supply company. It's not as dire as it might sound: you gotta have graduate-level expertise and more than a kitchen sink to recombine DNA sequences. What was interesting was that there is no across-the-board screening of all … Read more

when drug trials go wrong

The Beeb continues to report on the condition of the six young men who participated in a drug trial and are in intensive care. There’s an accompanying article interviewing a bloke who was due to take part, where he speaks about the motivations and incentives that are behind why men take part in these trials. … Read more

lost notes of royal society

Wow. The 1661-1682 minutes of The Royal Society were found in a Hampshire home and are up for auction at Bonhams on the 28th of March. They’re expected to fetch a million pounds, which the Royal Society doesn’t have. The unnamed family in whose home they were found didn’t know what they had, and claim … Read more